The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-05-22

leadership. Also, matter growing out OF an
eleemosynary institution under this department
the question of admitting q certain person.
Then the Offices of the Commissioner of tho
General Land Office. Commissioner of Patents
and the principal examiner were visited and the
bundle of documents reduced again.
Now have the most interesting part OF my
mission to perform said the Senator, as we
passed down the high steps and he cast his
glances across the street to the Postoffice De-
partment. MY colleague and / are rasping
each other little about some appointments IN
for prominent postofices and he is recommend
ing others suspect that he is using unfair
means 10 thwart me. l must see all the papers
he has filed in the department., and must DO 1t
without attracting attention"
We entered the room of a clerk having charge
of the papers relating to the postotices and post
rectiy interested IN. The Senator asked to see
all the papers fled in certain cases, and they
were dumped out on table Quickly he ran
over them, making memorandum OF tho peril
nent points. Then he asked for the papers upon
which two postmasters had been removed. /
noticed his brow corrueate he read these
and out went
Il have discovered" said the Senator. "that
my colleague has been playing double; that my
enemies have controlled the appointment of two
postmasters who hate me: that friend has been
removed on false accusations, and that the loca-
ton of a postoffiee is about to be taken from me
and placed with my opponents"
The superintendent of the railway mail service
got some of the Senator'S documents, in the form
of letters and recommendations for postal clerk
ships: also, petition to reinstate clerk and
another to remove ore. The superintendent of
free delivery was asked to send an inspector to
two three little cities to see if they were not
entitled under the new law, to free mail delivery.
The First Assistant Postmaster general wanted
to know, after the Senator gave the names of
more than dozen fourth class postmasters for
removal, and many more for appointment, II
there was anything ne could do for the Senator,
and, when told nothing whatever he smiled
and said he hoped the Senator would call when
he wanted something
And now" sighed the Senator. for our last
buding-the Pension Office. Here is place
visit six days in the week when am In the city
This is the bane of the public men. We tramp
here and pore over pension applications, write
thousands of letters in a year and GET curses Tor
our pains. Especially does opprobrium pour on
our heads for failures Those who get pensions
through our efforts are generally thankful. but
in their inner souls they believe they would
have got them without our assistance We can
never explain q failure satisfactorily to an APP
plicant. I will leave this little bundle here.
There are more than forty cases here-orig-
lnal applications, appeals, requests Tor IN
creases of pensions, and for every phase OF PEN
sion matters here is a cue"
When these matters were lodged with Com
missioner Black began to think of the end of
my journey, but when We were again in the car
riage saw were being driven toward the
Capitol The Senator explained that he kept his
surplus documents and seeds in his committee
room, and would have to go there to execute
sorue orders for constituents.
II presume you mean requests" observed.
mo. orders. was the reply. 1T used to be re-
quest: now, it is order. My constituents fire.
quently write me, ordering garden seeds. docu-
ments, books of various kinds which have to
buy, especially the Revised Statutes of the
United States, just the same as q merchant Or
ders a bill of eoods he expects to pay for"
Soon / discovered that not seeds and docu-
ments alone called my friend to the Capitol. He
went to an officer of the Senate to see abolt the
of dismissal Then he attempted get into
numerous committee rooms to obtain informa-
ton about documents filed there during the last
Congress in cases now dead. Finally he drew
from his pocket a memorandum of bills OK yari-
GUS kinds which constituents had requested, and
he went to the document-room for them. The
the Sens 'nr did not take his hat of at any place
he visited. He had bottled right into the rooms of
the Cabinet officers and announced his wants
without ceremony, like lawyer enters the Office
of the clerk when the court is in session and he
has case at bar. AS we were on tho steps at
the east side of the Capitol, ard I was congratu-
lating myself upon the ending of our wearisome
trip. my statesmanc friend exclaimed:
1.-Two more little things before leave this
part of the town. I haves here in my
pocket a letter from man who wants place as
also, another letter from one who wants to
know if certain title has ever been copy
rehsed with the Librarian OF Congress Como
with me to the Offices of these officers"
Next we drove to the Coast Survey Office and
to the Botanical Garden-to the former for some
technical Information for scientific constitu-
ent, and to the latter for some buds for lori-
culturist. We were now returning in the di-
rection Of Newspaper Row. to the business CEN
ter of the city. As the carriage whirleG along
the Senator drew forth memorandum book.
He stopped at the Pennsylvania depot to inquire
the cost of tickets to certain points, making
note of it, at commission house he asked the
price of certain produce, aud jotted it
down; and at a contours be priced
natural hair switch of a certain grade of white
ness, indicating that there were aged women
among the bothering constituents. When / asked
him if he did the shopping for his family he
piled that he never bought anything priced
anything for his family; that all he did for
constituents. Asked ii he made this much work
every day for his constituents he replied:
Much more than you have seen and heard I
do every day. Why, | read sixty letters and
dictated over forty answers before left my
house this morning When I get back will
read and sign those my secretary has written
out, and dictate a dozen or more before dinner.
These will be to those have been serving this
trip with you. For ten years sat Oh the bench
in my State and do moro law business now
than at that time"
What part of all your work do you consider
most aunoying?" asked.
The relations to federal offices-procuringp
sitions and keeping men and women in or out of
them. Half of my letters, taking the year
around. relate TO pensions. one-fourth to Offices
and politics. and onefourth to congressional af-
fairs. And a man makes three enemies to
friend In pensions, politics and congressional
work, when his correspondence is alone consld-
cred. That say. when he gets a letter ask
ing him to do something he will make three en-
emies to one friend in the execution of the re-
quest. But we back again. We left here
err 2 hope the four hours have been to-
gether have not been without profit. and that
you not envious OF q Senator's everyday
pleasures" P. S. H.
THE REVENUE SERVICE